France tops the league for credit card fraud against British holidaymakers, accounting for 43% of the spending on stolen or lost cards last year, according to a survey by Barclaycard.

But British tourists were more likely to fall victim to card fraud in Spain, where there were more fraudulent transactions for smaller amounts. Fraudsters spent an average £279 on a stolen card in France but just £25 in Spain.

The most common form of fraud is "skimming": fraudsters use a handheld card reader to record the data on a card's magnetic strip and transfer it later to a fake card. The first the victim will know about the fraud will be when rogue transactions appear on the monthly statement.

Ian Barber, press officer at Barclaycard, said: "The only way to avoid skimming is to follow your card everywhere, which is not always possible, for example in restaurants. We advise holidaymakers to check their statements carefully and report rogue transactions immediately."

Barclaycard encourages customers to advise when they are going on holiday; the card use is then monitored for suspicious transactions.

The other main form of fraud is "shoulder surfing", where thieves spy on cardholders as they withdraw money from a cashpoint, record the PIN and steal the card later.